Movie Review: Us

I went to see this movie expecting some top notch scary moments, and boy this movie did not disappoint! Today’s movie review will be on Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, Us!

This was Jordan Peele’s second horror film that he’s directed and this man is already doing big business with his films. I remember watching Get Out and was amazed with the story and horror of the film. Once I heard about this movie and the fact that Jordan Peele directed it, I knew I was in for a treat. He’s got a big career ahead of him if he continues to provide films like this one.

Us is a very unique horror film I must say. Now earlier I said that this movie featured top notch scary moments and I wasn’t kidding. There were moments where I legit opened my eyes wide whenever a major twist happened. Whenever someone scary happened, I jumped. I’ll admit it, I jumped. Especially with the buildup to any of these moments I would sit straight up, knowing for a fact that something was about to pop off.

This movie was starred by Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Anna Diop, and Evan Alex as a loving family who goes on a vacation to a beach house in Santa Cruz. Now earlier in the film, we see a young Adeladie Thomas (Lupita’s character) on vacation with her parents in Santa Cruz. As her parents are occupied, she wanders off onto the beach where she finds a funhouse. She wanders around the funhouse more and when she looks into a mirror, she notices a clone of herself. This clone is known as a doppelganger, and it scares the living crap out of her. Fast forward years later and we’re on the current day of Adelaide’s life as she’s on vacation with her family.

Throughout the movie, Adelaide is having constant flashbacks to her first vacation in Santa Cruz. She can’t get that image out of her mind, encountering the doppelganger. Her husband Gabe (Winston’s character) and her children all want to go to the beach, but she’s apprehensive about it because of her memories on that beach. They go to hang out with the Tyler Family: played by Tim Heidecker, Elisabeth Moss, and Cali and Nolle Sheldon. The whole time Adelaide is just uncomfortable being there so she wasn’t having a good time. Her son Jason (Evan’s character) wanders off, reminiscences his mother doing the same thing when she was his age. He then notices a man in a red jumpsuit standing on the beach with his arms extended out and blood on his hands. He never told his family about it, but later on Adelaide notices a picture that Jason drew of the man in the red jumpsuit.

Fast forward to that night, weird things started happening outside of the beach house. Jason notices a family of four outside in their driveway and everyone’s freaking out. Gabe goes out to investigate and as he threatens the family with a baseball bat, the family begins to attack. They break into the house and begins to terrorize the Wilsons. The family holds the Wilsons hostage in their living room and they reveal themselves. They’re the doppelgangers of the Wilsons! Adelaide’s doppelganger is named Red and she’s the only one who can speak. Gabe’s doppelganger is named Abraham. Zora’s doppelganger is named Umbrae. Jason’s doppelganger is named Pluto, who wears a mask. Red forces Adelaide to handcuff herself to the coffee table while Umbrae forces Zora to run out of the house. Pluto and Jason goes to a closet to play. Abraham forces Gabe to go to their boat outside. Each doppelganger share a signature weapon and it’s a pair of golden scissors. The golden scissors would be the signature weapon for the doppelgangers.

Fast forward a bit here, the Wilsons break free and they escape their beach house on Gabe’s boat and they travel to the Tyler Family’s house. There we see the Tyler family murdered by their own doppelgangers. The Wilsons arrive to see their friends dead and then they encountered the Tyler doppelgangers. The Wilsons kill them then they find out through the news that there are millions of doppelgangers out in the world called The Tethered. The Wilsons try to escape in the Tylers’ car til then are interrupted by Umbrae. Umbrae is killed when Adelaide slams on the brakes of the car and Umbrae flies into the nearby woods, colliding with a tree. The next day, The Wilsons arrive at the Santa Cruz boardwalk where they encounter Pluto. Pluto sets their getaway car on fire and they family begins to panic. Jason notices something here, and it’s that Pluto follows Jason’s every movement. Jason then sets up a creative way to kill Pluto. Jason extends his arms and begins to slowly back up. Pluto does the same but he’s backing up into the fiery car. Pluto is then burned to death, while Red appears and kidnaps Jason.

Adelaide runs to the infamous funhouse and tells Gabe and Zora to stay back. She was to rescue Jason alone. She finds an underground tunnel and there she sees a ton of white rabbits, then finally encounters Red. They begin to fight and Adelaide kills Red. She then rescues Jason and they return to their family safely.

A major twist happens next. During the drive home, Adelaide continues to think about her first vacation. We come to find out that when she first encountered Red in that funhouse, Red holds her hostage inside the tunnel and takes her place in the real world! Red became Adelaide! Movie officially ends when we see a overview of the Tethered across the world, holding hands together in a cult like vigil.

I’m gonna give this movie an 8/10 as the scary moments in this film was great, but the story of the Tethered I wasn’t that interested in. I also wish we got more scenes of the Tethered being killed but by the way this movie ended, we could possibly see a part two? Only time will tell.